The Curious Case of Benjamin Button-story version

Plot

  

     The story is based upon Benjamin's life.  It begins when he's age is a baby, but he looks like an old man.  "Wrapped in a voluminous white blanket, and partly crammed into one of the cribs, there sat an old man apparently about seventy years of age" (9).  He moves through life by aging backwards.  Since he's aging backwards, he has problems arise.  "The registrar frowned and glanced at a card before him.  'Why, I have Mr. Benjamin Button's age down here as eighteen'" (27).  He was unable to attend college at Yale.  When he tried to get married, Hildegarde Momcrief's father did not believe Benjamin's real age because at the time he looked 50.

Point of View

  

     The point of view is set in first and third person.  He starts out telling the story in first person.  He uses the word I many times.  "I shall tell you what occurred, and let you judge for yourself" (5).  Once the story begins, he moves into third person.  "When he was approximately a hundred yards from the Maryland Private Hospital for Ladies and Gentlemen he saw Doctor Keene..." (6).  Third person is continued until the end of the story.

Characterization

     Throughout the story, Benjamin is described or characterized.  When he is a baby, he is described as an old man.  "The old man untied the package and viewed the contents with a quizzical eye" (16).  This look carried with him for years.  It would not allow him to get into Yale, and he had problems trying to get married.  The paper printed stories about him, and "[h]e became known, journalistically, as the Mystery Man of Maryland" (37).  When he grew up, looking too young also became a problem.  When he was called back to war, he was unable to help.  "'Whose little boy are you?' he demanded kindly" (55).

Setting

     The setting revolves around Benjamin Button's life.  It first starts out with him in the hospital looking like an old man.  "With a malicious crackle the old man held up a small white swaddling garment" (13).  It moves on to his years in school.  "His father sent him up to Connecticut to take examinations for entrance to Yale College" (25).  He eventually gets married and joins the military.  " At the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898 his home had for him so little charm that he decided to join the army" (40).  Towards the end of his life, his son was taking care of him.  "With a harsh look at his father, Roscoe turned away..." (51).

Theme

     The theme is the fact that everyone ages.  Normal people age by beginning as a baby and grow into an old person.  They grow up learning how to speak.  Benjamin did the opposite.  When he was born he was an old man and was able to speak.  "The old man turned wearily to the nurse" (11).  When he got older he turned into a baby unable to speak.  "[A]ll these had faded like unsubstantial dreams from his mind as though they had never been" (62).